Senator continues with threat to shutter snapper season

Wednesday

May 8, 2013 at 8:23 PM

BATON ROUGE — The drive by a state senator to outlaw the possession of Gulf red snapper for recreational and commercial fishermen as well as everyone else in Louisiana cleared its first hurdle Wednesday, and the debate now heads to the full Senate.

Jeremy AlfordCapitol Correspondent

BATON ROUGE — The drive by a state senator to outlaw the possession of Gulf red snapper for recreational and commercial fishermen as well as everyone else in Louisiana cleared its first hurdle Wednesday, and the debate now heads to the full Senate. Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, said if the federal government wants to shrink the size of the recreational season because the fishery is supposedly being overfished, then Louisiana should go ahead and shut down the whole operation.Now that his Senate Bill 157 is moving, Allain said commercial interests and the Louisiana Restaurant Association, both of which oppose the legislation, “realize that I’m serious.” Without opposition, the Senate Natural Resources Committee approved the bill, which Allain said he would “park” if the U.S. commerce secretary would direct Roy E. Crabtree, regional administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Services, to testify before the Legislature. Allain pushed a resolution through the process securing the backing of most of the Senate for the request but said federal officials declined. NOAA is tasked with conducting scientifically based fishery stock assessments and has slowly been reducing Louisiana’s recreational red snapper seasons from 194 days in 2004 to nine for 2013. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries asked the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to allow the state to take over control of red snapper seasons, but the council rejected the move. As a result, the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission went non-compliant and created its own Louisiana-only red snapper season this year, much like Texas. Members of Congress are also pushing federal bills to grant Gulf states more regulatory authority. Specifically, Allain’s legislation would prohibit the “sale, possession, or importation of red snapper in the state or in the waters of the state.”He added an amendment Wednesday that would give the state wildlife and fisheries secretary the ability to open back up the proposed closure if the federal government adds more days to this year’s recreational season. Harlon Pearce, a seafood processor and distributor from Kenner who sits on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, said he expected the season to be expanded next month when new stock assessments are reviewed.“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to get more recreational days out of that stock assessment,” he said.But Pearce also said Allain’s bill, if ultimately enacted, would hurt commercial “fishermen and their families.” He said 25 percent to 35 percent of the landings for the region’s harvesting sector come in through Louisiana, particularly Leeville.If Louisiana shuts down its commercial market for red snapper, business will simply boom elsewhere, he added.“This fish will still be caught in Mississippi or somewhere else,” Pearce said.He said the commercial sector has always stayed within its allocations, which have likewise shrunk, albeit slightly. “One of the reasons we’ve got a problem with the quota is the recreational sector overfished its harvest by 1.8 million pounds last year and by 1.5 million pounds the year before,” he said. Stan Harris, president of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, said a ban could potentially impact tourism and restaurant sales. “The wild-caught is preferred. It’s why people come to our restaurants,” he said.